Staying with authentic nomad families will be the genuine experience of Mongolian culture and the highlight of Mongolian tours. The nomads are mainly self-sufficient, living off the land and their herd. Their day to day about survival and existence life with the help and share of each other may influence them to be naturally hospitable, and their home doors are always open to everybody. For outsiders, staying with the nomads and discovering the nomadic lifestyle could be a rewarding and eye-opening experience. When you take this tour, you will learn a lot about nomadic life and can find more about yourself in an entirely different world. To specify a few of the experiences; unlimited horseback riding for your enjoyment or herd animals, assembling the Mongolian traditional dwelling ger, learning to cook traditional meals, cookies, and dairy products, playing traditional games, milking animals, sipping Airag drink, and much more. You also travel to the ancient monastery Erdenezuu, built on the site of the 13th century Great Mongol Empire’s capital Kharkhorum in the broad valley of the Orkhon River, the World Cultural Heritage Site.
Itinerary
Day 1: Start the tour to Erdenezuu Monastery in Kharkhorin
Meet your guide and driver at the airport/ the railway station/ your accommodation. Before leaving Ulaanbaatar, prepare for several days’ stay with the nomads if needed. Start the tour to Kharakhorin. In Kharkhorin, Erdenezuu Monastery coexists with Kharkhorin town in the vast valley of the Orkhon River. Erdenezuu is the oldest, largest, and most beautiful monastery in Mongolia. The driving takes 5.5-6.5 hours on the paved roads of mountain steppes. Arrive in Kharkhorin. You will climb or drive up Kings' Wall hill and turtle stone hill to see the whole view of Erdenezuu Monastery from an elevated area. Next, visit the Kharakhorum Museum display remnants of the old city.
Accommodation: Ger Camp
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Day 2: Visit Erdenezuu Monastery and the nomad life experience starts
After breakfast, visit Erdenezuu Monastery Museum to see some valuable religious items and look its stunning architecture. You also visit an active temple for a morning chant of the monks. Next, we drive to a nomadic family living in an area called “Elsentaserhai.” Elsentasarkhai is a unique place representing the Gobi Desert, mountain steppe, and high mountains in a single area. Visit the nomads and join a nomadic lunch. Today, you will learn to assemble a traditional dwelling ger with the help of nomads, where you will stay for the next couple of days. Stay in a ger neighboring the nomad family.
Accommodation: An extra ger of a nomad family
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3-4: Days to learn and practice the nomadic life, custom and tradition
Every morning, you will get up when the sunlight hits the ger roof window and the noise of wakening up animals. You will spend two days observing what nomads do daily, learning their customs and traditions, and eating home-cooked meals. If you wish, you can volunteer nomadic chores. You can milk animals, cook traditional meals and cookies, make dairy products from milk, tend livestock, collect horses while riding on horseback, see horse lassoing, play traditional games, etc. Horse riding tour to Hugnu Khaan Mountain and camel riding along the dunes.
Accommodation: An extra ger of a nomad family
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Return to Ulaanbaatar
Return to Ulaanbaatar after 4.5 to 5 hours of driving and transfer to your accommodation.
Meals: Breakfast
Background
Is the Mongolian Nomadic Life Tour Suitable for You?
This is a moderate and the most recommended tour to experience authentic nomadic life while staying at the nomad's extra ger and exploring some exciting attractions, scenic places, and cultural and historical remnants of central Mongolia in a short period. You will travel with an English-speaking guide or your preferred language guide. There is not much driving except for the first day. Exploring cultural items and experiencing an authentic nomad life is the sole purpose of the tour. You may hear that nomadic life is harsh about day-to-day survival and existence. Therefore, the nomads pay little attention to comfort. Everything will be genuine. We recommend the tour for passionate cultural travelers. During the nomad family stay, you will not have any access to a modern WC, bathroom, standard table, chairs, and electricity, but some source of light with the help of solar panels or car aqua. The meals are local and simple though organic. The tour does not include any demanding physical activities, but some horse and camel riding with the support of your guide and the equestrian. We suggest you bring or prepare your usage such as snacks, drinks (we will provide bottled water), and sanitary and medical items before leaving Ulaanbaatar.
Accommodation
You will stay a night in a ger camp where you can have access to a shower, bathroom, and a local restaurant. Rest of the days, you will stay with a nomad family. The tour is available off-season. For more detailed information about the main accommodation ger camp, please visit Mongolia Ger camps and Mongolia nomad family
Guides
The majority of our guides are English speaking. We also have some guides who speak German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. They are all friendly and helpful, and the majority of them were born and grown in the countryside. Therefore, they have a good knowledge of culture, tradition, history, and geography. During horse and camel riding, local equestrians will help you.
Transportation
You can have a choice of vehicles. The tour is available either with a sedan car (has three passenger seats) or four wheels driving Japanese vehicle (has five passenger seats except for a driver) driven by experienced, friendly, and good mechanic drivers. Different car types are available upon request, and you may check the tour vehicles at Mongolia transportation. The tour price varies depending on your preferred vehicle type.
When is the Best Time to Experience the Mongolian Lifestyle?
The tour is available all year round. It is best to travel between 10 May and 10 October. During this period, the weather will be warm and enjoyable. However, you should not expect warm weather during the trip, even if you travel in summer. Mongolia is elevated at least 700 m above the neighboring Siberian plateau and Chinese territory. Therefore, the weather is extreme, and the temperature fluctuates hourly, daytime and night. Receiving snowfalls is occasional in May, September, and October. Average daylight temperatures are +22°C, highest at +29°C in May, the first half of June, the last half of August, and September. On average, +26°C, highest +35 to +38°C daytime in late June, July, and early August. The temperature drops by 10-20°C in the evening and at night. When raining, the temperature drops markedly. Please check the best time to travel to Mongolia and the discovery tour packing list to prepare for the trip.
To plan your dream holiday or customize the tour exclusively for you, please check the attractions of different regions.
